I Had Fallen Apart
by BrkLnLady
Summary: Kate's life was falling apart in Philadelphia in 1897. Could she have a new and better one in New York? Perhaps a new love?
1. Kate's Everyday Life

Disclaimer: I don't own Disney's "Newsies". BUT! I DO own Kate, Tock, Buckets.  
  
"Hey pops wake up, I'm leavin." Kathryn shook her father's shoulder slightly. "Mmph," he grumbled, "where you goin'?"  
"You know where I'm goin! I'm goin ta sell in da same intasection as I always do, pops, you know dat!"  
"O ok. Its hard for me to remember these things at 4 in the mornin. Be careful Kate."  
"I will, daddy." Kate walked out of her father's bedroom, snatched her hat off of the staircase banister on the way down and slammed the door behind her.  
It was a brisk morning in Philadelphia on November 13, 1897, and Kate could see her breath as she kicked dirt up in the street. The boots she wore were brown with years of use, and the shoelaces were split at the ends. She had a rough life, but never thought anything of it. A quick breeze blew by and she passed between two very tall buildings. She hated alleys. It felt like the buildings were going to fall down on her. The breeze was large enough to blow her hat off of her head and she went tumbling after it down the alley and into the carriage-ridden street.  
It was still dark out, so she had a little trouble knowing where exactly she was. Before she knew it, the pounding of hooves shook the ground beneath her when a carriage came 2 inches from hitting her. She dove out of the way with her hat close to her heart and her heart itself racing. "Get out of the way you little tramp!" yelled a man from the carriage seat. "Sorry!" She yelled back. Her parents had always taught her to be courteous even when others were being rude. That rule didn't really apply anymore, since her mother was sent to a mental asylum two years ago. Kate had to find a different way of supporting herself, and that was by selling newspapers for the Philadelphia Tribune everyday at the crack of dawn. The streets had taught her a whole different way to live. Kate continued walking down Main Street until she came to where a crowd of kids were sitting outside of a barred window. "Heya, Buckets!" she yelled.  
"Hey guys come ova heah! Kate decided to wake up a lil late taday, didn't cha?" She laughed at these remarks given by her best friend, Buckets, and was soon swallowed into his large arms with him laughing like a little kid again. Well, he kind of was a little kid. Buckets and Kate were both 15 years old, and he was only a few inches taller than her at 5'6". She thought he was cute, actually. "Okay okay, get off me ya big lummox!" He released her from his grip, but didn't hesitate to give her shoulder-length blonde hair a good scratch. "OW!" She yelped. He laughed and went about talking to all his friends at the distribution center. But she wasn't done. She grabbed the back of his suspenders and snapped them as hard as she could. O yeah he would have a welt for weeks with that one. "Holy SHIT! Kate! What the hell ya tryin ta do ta me, huh?" She burst out laughing and ran around the brick building to where the girls were gathering and gossiping. Kate was never really good friends with any of them, since she liked to rough house and usually only guys took part in that sort of play. Plus, Kate didn't wear dresses like most of them did. She only had a blue corduroy hat, tan slacks, a blue plaid shirt, and a white undershirt. One girl, Tock, looked up from her conversation with her friends and shouted, "look out! Kate don't wear no red!" This was a long joke that all of the newsies that sold for the Tribune had had for a very long time. Kate laughed and then turned quick on her heels, trying to blend in with the girls so that Buckets wouldn't see her. It didn't work. Buckets came around the corner and saw her almost immediately. He was laughing and just then he realized that the distribution bell was ringing. All the girls were scurrying past him and out of the corner of his eye he saw Kate sticking her tongue out at him. "Just wait. One day I'm gonna get you and you're gonna be one sorry little ass." She knew he was just kidding. The girls respectively took their place at the end of the line. The boys always went first; it drove Kate crazy. She was so anxious to get all of her papers sold and to get home before the afternoon edition came out. Buckets moved to the front of the line. He slapped down 30 cents and Mr. Tromn handed him his 60 papes.  
By the time Kate got her 60 papes, Buckets had been waiting for her at the gates for 15 minutes. "C'mon slow buns! If ya wanna make some money ya gotta hustle a lil bit!" She hurried towards him and they both trotted down the street until they came to the busiest intersection in the area: 23rd and Colmes. There they yelled the headlines for a good 3 hours.  
It was a lot more tiring than most people thought. You had to yell loud enough so even the people in the carriages could hear you, and if you made up a headline, you had to run as fast as your legs could carry you if you got an angry customer. Selling newspapers was just starting to take its toll on Kate, and she had been selling for 2 years now. Kate actually got rid of all her papes real fast, so she waited around for Buckets to finish with his. Then they decided to head home together. It was a whole lot better to walk with someone else in Philadelphia. It just made you feel more comfortable on the busy streets. As they walked back towards Kate's house, Buckets slung his arm around her shoulders and lit a cigarette. She looked at him expectantly, and he rolled his eyes playfully as he lit her one as well. She took a big swig and blew a ring into the air. "So how's life treatin' ya, Kate?" Buckets inquired.  
"Oh it's okay I guess. My dad gets real drunk sometimes. We ain't been hearin' nothin' good from the asylum. But they say she'll be better soon if she would stop hittin herself in the head so much." Buckets felt a little sorry for her and tried to change the subject. "How 'bout ya bruddas? You heard anything from them?"  
"Nah. They left for the West 3 years ago. Didn't I eva tell you dat? They went out West thinkin' they was gonna gets rich or somethin'. Eva since they both got married to crazy whores from the streets, daddy aint been too happy to hear from them anyways." Buckets realized that his attempt to lighten the conversation had failed and he allowed himself to walk the rest of the way in silence. When they got to her tenement, she waved goodbye and walked up the stairs to the 2th floor. "Hey Dad! I'm done!" There was nothing but silence. "Dad?!" She walked to her father's door and creaked it open. "Dad?" She heard a crash of glass come from the bathroom. "Hey Dad! You okay in there?" A sob reached her ears. With a hard right kick, she busted the locked bathroom door open. Her dad was sitting in the bathtub with a broken liquor bottle on the floor next to him. "Aw dad c'mon, what happened?" As she looked around, she noticed that there were more whiskey bottles laying around the bathroom on the counters and toilet. A red flag went off. He only drinks like this when something serious has happened. She threw off her hat, brushed the broken bottle aside and sat next to the rub. "Dad....dad.... look at me dad. What's going on." When he lifted his face, she saw the bloodshot, teary eyes that she hated to see. "Kate..." he sobbed. He grabbed her around her shoulders and pulled her over the side of the tub. He held her there for a long time before he could even speak. He drenched Kate's shirt with his tears. "Ok dad. You let it all out. Now just tell me what happened!" He lifted a finger and pointed to a piece of paper in the sink. "What does it say, daddy?" She looked at him with desperation. Her father had never been like this before. He very rarely cried and if he ever did, they were quiet, soft tears. "JUST TELL ME WHAT IT SAYS GOD DAMNIT! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!" Kate shook him violently, hoping to get him out of the silent stage. "Kate, sweety...." They made contact almost immediately. "Your mother is dead." 


	2. Why?

SHOUTOUTS!  
  
MiseryLovesCompany- Hey! I love your story. O the "don't wear no red" joke was something that me and my friends said one time (it kinda happened spontaneously) and you know how the cops are called bulls? Well red makes bulls angry and Buckets was acting like a bull so I kinda made the connection haha.  
  
On with the story!  
  
A look of fear passed across Kate's face. 'How could this happen,' she thought. 'Mother promised me that she would never leave me and that she would get better. She promised me!' Without even saying anything, Kate slowly stood up and backed away from the tub. Still staring at her miserable father, she picked up her hat and began to leave the bathroom. Her father barely even looked at her. It was too painful. Every part of Kate looked almost exactly like her mother's. He dropped his head in despair. All Kate could do was walk away, but she felt like time had stopped and her feet had been nailed to the floor. The thick silence was broken only by her father's sobs. Turning to leave, she grabbed a full bottle of whiskey and quietly shut the bathroom door behind her.  
'What do I do?' But there was only one thing to do. Just like every other time that something happened to her, she ran. Out the doors, through the streets, and around any corner she could find. This time, she ran with the greatest speed of anyone. The heart inside her turned blue as she gasped for oxygen after crossing the Benjamin Bridge. A stone caused her to tumble forward onto the ground. She was in a strange area now, but she didn't care. Kate crawled into a dark alley (seeing that it was just past 9 in the morning) and propped herself up against the brick wall. Popping open the whiskey bottle, she swallowed the substance, trying to drown both her father's and her own sadness. Her mind was racing, trying to think of possible explanations as to why such a thing would happen to her. Her father was almost always drunk, her brothers married good-for-nothing women who spent their time gallivanting about the streets of Philadelphia doing anything or anyone if they got paid to do it, and now her mother died of a mental illness. Was this world trying to kill her or something? 'Who knows what will happen to me next,' she thought to herself. She took another swig of the bottle before she broke down into tears. Her sobs echoed off of the walls, but no one seemed to hear. The carriages and pedestrians passed on by with their normal lives, everything on schedule and in due time. Late into the night she sat there, thinking, crying, drinking, dazing. It took her a good long time near midnight to realize that it would take her a while to get home, and that she still had to sell her papers in 4 hours. Kate emptied the last drop of whiskey into her mouth and left the bottle sitting in the alley. She was very tired, and being a little tipsy didn't help either, but she managed to get going in the right direction.  
The walk home proved longer than she expected, so she arrived at the distribution center at a quarter past 4 and dragging her feet. Buckets was at his usual spot just outside the barred window, playfully punching the other guys and puffing on a cigarette. As soon as he saw her dropped face, he walked over to her. "Hey, uh, Kate? You feelin' okay?" She shook her head and continued to look at the ground. Usually, Kate would talk to Buckets about her problems, but she didn't feel like talking about this one. One small boy came forward snickering and said, "hey Buckets *laugh* didja eva tink she just might have some bad news about ya baby? *laugh*" Another older boy grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back saying, "Lay off it, Shiner, Buckets could lay you out in less than a second." Both of them disappeared into the crowd that was gathering around Kate and Buckets. "Okay there's nuttin' ta see here move along move along!" Just about everyone listened to Buckets's stern voice. He was the leader type, but Trips still reigned over these newsies. A tear fell from Kate's face as Buckets hugged her tightly. "Kate what's goin' on?"  
"Remember my mudda?"  
"Yeah..."  
"She's dead." Buckets truly cared for Kate and when something happened that hurt her, he was outraged. But seeing as there was nothing he could do, he simply held her as she cried. He had never seen her cry before, so it was just as hard for him as it was for her. Kate's weary face looked up at Buckets and she let out a giggle. "What was that for?" Buckets asked. "Nuttin' really. It's just kinda funny dat you gots a puddle on your shirt." They both laughed a little bit, and then Buckets said, "you look like you haven't slept forever. Where have you been?"  
"I ain't sure exactly where I was, but I was somewhere over the Benjamin Bridge all night without a wink of sleep."  
"You were all the way across that bridge?! Where didja get the energy for that? Are you up for sellin' papes today? I could sell some more and split the earnin's with ya."  
"Too many questions! Buckets, I gotta support myself here." He looked down at her worried. Her eyes told him that she would be okay and that she's a big girl now. For the first time in a long time, a girl took a place in the line up front. Buckets and Kate got their papers right after Trips and headed for the usual intersection to sell together.  
It took her longer than usual to get rid of all of her papers. Her lungs were still tired from the previous day's run and her creativity was the last thing going on her mind. Kate still had 2 papers left by the time the afternoon edition had come out, and Buckets was already selling his second load. She signaled to him that she was heading back to the d.c. to get her papes, but he shouted that he already got them for her. Smiling, she handed him the money for them and then she began to shout again, "daughter of ambassador found dead in a nearby unfinished grave!" which really read "immigrant couldn't afford to pay for his daughter's grave." Buckets always thought she was the most strong-hearted, creative girl in Philadelphia. Day turned into night and this time, Kate was drenched in the rain as she walked slowly home alone. Buckets was going out that night with the rest of the newsies from the Lodging House. When she got home, all was silent in the apartment. Kate half-expected her father to be in bed, but she also expected him to be in the tub again. But as she walked around the house, he was neither. He was no where to be found. Frantically, Kate searched his bedroom, bathroom, and the living room, but he was gone. She opened up all the drawers in his room and they were empty. "WHY, GOD?! WHY?! I'M ONLY 15 YEARS OLD! YOU EXPECT ME TO BE ABLE TO LIVE LIKE THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE?! MY DAD JUST GOT UP AND LEFT ME WITH NO SECOND THOUGHT AT ALL! " She screamed and dropped to her knees on the rug. She cried like she never had before, not even like she had yesterday. Her life was falling apart and again, she was helpless and there was nothing she could do about it. She slept on the rug that night, half crying and half screaming. The frustration was more than she could handle. Never again would she set foot in this apartment, never again would she walk these streets.  
The next morning, at about 3:30, she awoke to a bitter feeling of hatred and disgust for the city that she had lived in all her life. She had to leave, there was no other way to escape all these painful memories, she had to run. She stood up, smoothed out her hair, put on her cap, and pocketed her stash of change that she hid in the kitchen. For the last time, she closed the door behind her. She still had time to catch Buckets at the Lodging House.  
When she reached her destination, she walked inside and up the stairs without regard to Mr. Stelman who was sitting behind the booth getting ready to wake the boys and girls who slept above him. She looked around the boys' room and when she spotted Buckets, she walked over to him and shook him awake. "Buckets... Buckets wake up!" He moaned and groaned until she slapped him awake with a good thwack to the cheek. "Wake up you lazy bones! This is important!" Buckets sat up rather quickly, rubbed his eyes, looked at Kate, and rubbed his eyes again in an almost humorous manner. "Kate? Is that you?"  
"Yeah it's me."  
"What are you doin' here?"  
"Well, I came to tell you..... goodbye." When Kate said this, Buckets jumped so high he hit the bunk above him. "GOODBYE?! WHY ARE YOU SAYIN' GOOD-"  
"SHhhhhhhh! You're gonna wake everyone up! I ain't even 'sposed to be in the boys' room! Now here's what's goin' on, so listen up...."  
Later, all the newsies were gathering outside the distribution center yet again. Today, it was Buckets who came walking up with somewhat of a droopy face. "Hey Buckets, why the long face?" asked Trips. "I think maybe yesterday was bad news about his baby afta all!" One girl yelled out from the back. Trips continued "Hey, uh, speakin of Kate, where is she anyways?"  
  
"O she ain't gonna be here for a while." Buckets told him. Whispers broke out among the girls while some of the guys who were closest to Buckets repeatedly asked him "why, Buckets, why? Where she at?" After all the commotion, Trips clearly asked, "Why?"  
"She's going to New York." 


End file.
